There are widely used methods for the color development of exposed light-sensitive materials with color developing agents, which involve the incorporation of photographic couplers, i.e., three color couplers of yellow, magenta and cyan couplers, into light-sensitive emulsion layers to form a color photographic dye.
It is required that the thus-formed developed dyes are bright yellow, magenta and cyan dyes having little secondary absorption and give photographic color images with good color reproducibility.
On the other hand, it is required that the formed photographic color images can be well-preserved under various conditions. Namely, it is required that the dye images are prevented to the extent possible from fading and discoloring and that stain is prevented to the extent possible from forming even when the color images are exposed to light over a long period of time and stored under high temperature and humidity conditions. Further, it is necessary that all three colors are prevented from fading to the same degree. However, there is a possibility that an improved method for preventing the fading of a certain dye image has an adverse effect--the color balance of the three colors is lost after fading and as a result, the quality of the photographic image deteriorates thereby.
There are many methods for improving the fastness of magenta dye images and cyan dye images at present, and the fastness of the images can be controlled. However, there is no method for improving the fastness of yellow dye images to light without having an adverse effect. Accordingly, it is a demand for a new method.
Some attempts have been made to improve the fastness of developed yellow dye images. To improve fastness to light, ultraviolet light absorbers to protect the dye image from ultraviolet rays and anti-fading agents which prevent the dye image from being faded by light, have been proposed.
For example, in the method for improving the light resistance of the dye image by adding ultraviolet light absorbers to color photographic materials, light resistance can be greatly improved in comparison with methods in which no ultraviolet light absorber is added. However, when the ultraviolet light absorbers are used in such an amount as to obtain a sufficient effect, there is the problem that white grounds are yellowed because the ultraviolet light absorbers themselves are colored. Further, when the ultraviolet light absorbers are used, they do not have the effect of preventing the dye image from being faded by visible light, and hence there is a limitation with regard to the degree of improvement in light resistance.
Among the anti-fading agents which prevent the dye image from being faded by light, there are many compounds which deteriorate the preservability of the dye image in a dark place, cause staining on white grounds or the discoloration of the dye image by light, heat and humidity or interfere with the color formation of the couplers. Hence, a sufficient color density can not be obtained. Accordingly, they have many practical problems. The bisphenols described in JP-B-48-31256 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication") and JP-B-48-31625 interfere with the color formation of the couplers, and hence they have practical problems. Particularly, when silver halide color photographic materials containing high silver chloride content emulsions having a silver chloride content of not less than 90 mol % are subjected to rapid processing with developing solutions containing no benzyl alcohol, there is the problem that these bisphenols are apt to lower the color density. Even when the amounts of the bisphenols to be added were increased, contrast was lightly lowered and an effect of improving sufficient fastness to light for practical use could not be obtained. Further, JP-A-64-50048 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-A-64-50049 and JP-A-61-4041 disclose that cyclic ether compounds or compounds having an epoxy group are added to the photographic materials. However, an improving effect obtained hereby is still insufficient.
For the purposes of recording and storage, the light-sensitive materials must have the property that an image obtained immediately after processing not deteriorate even when the image is stored over a long period of time. At present, yellow dye images are poor in preservability in a dark place and the color thereof is likely to become turbid when stored over a long period of time. JP-A-64-50048, JP-A-64-50049 and JP-A-61-4041 l disclose the use of cyclic ether compounds or epoxy group-containing compounds to solve these problems. However, the improvement obtained thereby is still insufficient sufficient. Particularly, when rapid processing is carried out with developing solutions containing no benzyl alcohol, the effect obtained thereby is low. A solution to the problem of color turbidity of yellow dye images can be scarcely obtained, and there is a demand for a new method.
The present inventors have found that the fastness of yellow dye images to light can be greatly improved unexpectedly by using certain bisphenols in combination with ultraviolet light absorbers. Further, it has been found that color developability can be greatly improved by using certain epoxy compounds in combination therewith. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of these findings.